


Condolences

by elynne



Series: The Warden's Path [1]
Category: Dragon Age
Genre: F/M, Quest, very short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-02
Updated: 2012-07-02
Packaged: 2017-11-08 23:59:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/448993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elynne/pseuds/elynne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Most of the time, Alistair fumbles with words. But there are a few occasions when he says exactly the right thing...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Condolences

Natalia grimaced as she approached the ragged porch in front of a crumbling house in Denerim. A woman was listlessly sweeping the porch with a distracted look, as if her thoughts were far away. Delivering the first letter had been hard enough. Clutching the rolled parchment in her hand, Natalia swallowed, trying to rally her courage to do it again – to struggle for words, anything that might have a chance of easing the bleak news she carried; to look into the woman's face as her hope was shattered, twisting in grief. The first time, after mumbling halfway through a painful cliché, she'd simply handed over the scroll. She wondered if the expression on the woman's face was like her own, when she realized that she'd lost almost her entire family and everyone she'd grown up with in one night.

She took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders... then let the breath out, her hands falling to her sides. “Maker's mercy,” she said softly. “I can't do this again.”

For a moment, she thought that her hound had tugged the letter out of her weakened grasp, but Tobias stood on her other side, scuffling in the dirt of the street. Alistair gave her a quick, unreadable glance, then walked towards the woman with the scroll in his hand. Natalia glanced at Wynne, who shrugged slightly.

They followed in the warden's wake as he approached the porch. Wincing, Natalia tried not to imagine the things he might say, but she cringed inside, thinking of all the awkward conversations and his strange, morbid sense of humor. Surely, Maker forbid, he wouldn't try to make a joke?

“Lady Whitecliff?”

The woman turned, holding the broom in front of her with a guarded expression. “Yes?” she said.

Alistair half-bowed, holding out the letter in his hand, the other pressed to his chest, a gesture of respect like the ones that Natalia had seen other templars give. Then the warden straightened up, his face showing honest regret. “My lady, I hope that you like heroes, because your husband died as one.”

The woman's hand trembled as she reached out and took the letter, letting out a tiny gasp, but she looked up with a calm face as tears began to form in her eyes. “Thank you,” she said, then turned away quickly, dropping the broom and hurrying into the house, shutting the door behind her.

Without a word, Alistair turned around, walking out of the alley. Natalia realized that she was staring, and closed her mouth with a click. She glanced at Wynne again, who wore a small, sad smile. “It appears that you still have some things to learn about your companion,” the mage said quietly as she fell into step behind the warden. Tobias looked up at his mistress, who shook her head slightly, then gestured for him to walk at her side as she followed the others out into the busy streets of Denerim.

**Author's Note:**

> This was the quest that got me really hooked on Alistair. I was completely floored by his reaction. I don't remember exactly the order that my DA fanfics were supposed to go in, so I'm approximating and calling this first.


End file.
